Therapeutic Love (ONE SHOT)
by sailorillyana
Summary: (REWRITE!) AU: Usagi and Mamoru are complete strangers, no past lives to link them together, but there's still something about her...


"Would you like some cream or sweetener?" The young waitress asked the dark-haired man, eying him up and down as she filled his coffee cup. She did her best to make herself look "available".

Mamoru just stared at his cup and shook his head 'no.' The waitress was disappointed that he didn't ask for her number or, at the very least, her name and stalked off. She had been making her interest known for the half hour he had been there, sitting in that booth and drinking black coffee, staring at the table like there was too much on his mind. He did, indeed, have other things on his mind, and dating or hooking up were at the bottom of his list. He had school and therapy and a part-time job to occupy his thoughts. He barely had any time for his friends- well, friend, and the only one he really needed.

He checked his watch, gulped down the rest of his coffee, and left a tip on the table as he left. Didn't want to be late to his session, of course. He adjusted his olive green suit jacket as he climbed into his car and turned over the engine. The red sports car rumbled to life and he headed towards his therapists' office. He was a nice man, and he was good at his job, but it seemed nothing could fight off the loneliness and depression Mamoru had always experienced.

"So, Chiba, how was your day?" The therapist asked as they took their usual seats in his office.

Mamoru shrugged, "Same as every other day, it seems. The cute waitress at the diner hit on me, though."

The man grinned and cocked his head to one side, "So, when are you taking her out?"

Mamoru shook his head and breathed out, "You know I'm not interested in dating. I just don't have room for it in my life. And no woman has really caught my eye."

The therapist crossed his legs and gave Mamoru a sideways look, "I hate to make you think that you'll only be happy in a relationship, but it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?"

He had a point. The ache of the loneliness never seemed to disappear, and it had been eating away at Mamoru ever since he had become an orphan, but now just wasn't a good time. "I'm only three months removed from my 18th birthday. I got out of the orphanage, got an apartment with the money my parents left me, and went straight to college. I'm still trying to catch up, it seems. Maybe I'll go for it later, once I feel like I've got my life in line. Is that good enough for you?"

"If it works for you, it works for me. How has school been?"

They spoke for the next forty-five minutes about the typical boring things Mamoru couldn't care about talking on: school and work. The therapist finally glanced at the clock and sat up, "Well, it seems the day's session is over. I'll see you next week?"

Mamoru rose to his feet and nodded in reply to the question. He bowed and left the office, feeling no different than he had when he got there. He had the day off from work, and his classes ended before his appointment, so maybe he could go visit Motoki. The arcade was quietest just before the high school and middle school got out, anyway, so they could have some sort of a conversation.

* * *

"Mamoru! Yo!" Motoki yelled from behind the counter at the arcade as he stepped through the sliding doors. "I just brewed some coffee. I'll pour you a cup and you can tell me about therapy."

"Thanks, Motoki," Mamoru said as he sat down at the far end of the bar.

His best friend sat the mug of coffee in front of him and leaned over the counter, "So, how was it?"

Mamoru breathed a heavy sigh, "He told me that I should try to find a relationship. Which, of course, I told him was ludicrous and that I want to get my head on straight. Between living on my own and my job and school, I don't have time for a relationship."

Motoki grunted, "You barely have time for me."

"Exactly." Mamoru stared at the dark liquid in his cup. "I don't even know if I'll ever find someone that catches my eye, honestly."

"Yeah, well, that happens sometimes," the blonde-haired man said as he wiped up the little bit of coffee he spilled on the counter.

Mamoru took a drink as he heard the sliding doors open. A young, blonde-haired girl with... dumplings? on the top of her head entered. She was smiling and giggling as Motoki approached her. She sat down on the stool at the opposite end of the counter and something inside of him did a backflip, but he pushed that away.

"Motoki!" She squealed, "Hi, hi!"

"Hey, Usagi!" Motoki grinned, "The usual today?"

She tapped her chin as if she was considering her options. "Make it a triple. I think I did really well on my English test!"

"Woah," he said from behind the counter as he began putting ingredients for a triple chocolate shake into the blender, "You do well in English? Who let you cheat off of them?"

"Motoki!" She shouted, hitting the counter with the palm of her hand. "I studied really, really hard!"

"Fine, fine," he said as he poured the shake into a glass and topped it with whipped cream, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, and a cherry. He set it and a spoon in front of her. "How about that math test you had last week? Did you get your tests back yet?"

Her face turned red, "Well, uh..." She pulled it out of her bag and, hiding it from him, smirked as she crumbled it and tossed it to the side. "It doesn't matter! I'll make up for it." She didn't see Mamoru when she first came in, so it was a shock to hear him react to the paper ball hitting his head.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing things!" He said, bending down to pick it up. He yanked at the crumbled mess of paper and began to flatten it back out.

"Don't!" Usagi shouted, but it was too late.

He pulled apart the test and glanced at the grade at the top, "Woah, a 30 percent? That's not even almost passing. You should study harder, dumpling head."

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, "You really shouldn't look at other people's things! That's not polite." She got up and snatched it out of his hands before going back to her seat to start in on her milkshake.

"Don't throw your things at people and they won't have to look at your stuff," he said matter-of-factly, taking another gulp of coffee.

She scowled at him and turned away, nose in the air. "Mind your own business from now on!"

Mamoru rolled his eyes and looked away from her, though he felt a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He listened to Motoki talk to her, and they sounded as though they had been friends for years and years.

"Have you and Naru made plans for her sixteenth birthday?" Motoki asked as he began to clean up the mess from making her shake.''

"Mama's gonna make her a really big cake! And Naru was thinking of bringing all of our friends and celebrating here." She explained excitedly.

Motoki closed his eyes, "I'm going to have to put up with screaming fifteen and sixteen year olds? I'm getting too old for this."

Mamoru decided to join the conversation, "Come on, Motoki. The girls will be all over you. Don't you love that?"

A horrified expression appeared on Motoki's face, "No! They're too young, Mamoru. Too young for me. No thanks." He was stumbling over his words, uncomfortable that his friend would say such a thing.

"Oh, don't worry Motoki, I know you're not a creep." Usagi shot daggers at the strange man she didn't know. "I think that's this guy's fantasy instead."

Mamoru's face went red. He tried to regain his composure, "As if anyone would hit on you and your friends. Hell, you probably can't even do the math to figure out the age difference between you and me."

Usagi was fuming at this point. She grabbed her bag and stood up, "Thank you for the shake, Motoki. I'll see you tomorrow." She shot a look at Mamoru and snorted, "Jerk."

They watched her go and then Motoki walked over to Mamoru, "Dude, that was pretty messed up. You don't even know her. I don't think I've ever seen you be so mean." He grabbed the coffee pot and topped off his friend's cup.

"I was joking, Motoki. You know me better than that." He faked a laugh and pushed away the now-full mug.

"Everything was fine before Usagi came in," the man said. "What got into you?"

Mamoru sat back, slightly flustered, "I don't know. It was kind of fun, and I know that's a terrible thing to say, but it was. Does she come here often?"

Motoki lowered his head, "Every single day."

"I can't believe I've never noticed her before. She was kind of cute, you know?" Mamoru pondered the thought.

"She's sixteen," Motoki reminded.

"It's two years, Motoki." he retorted. "You were panicking about age difference like two years is automatic prison for life."

"Usagi's like a sister to me," Motoki explained, "Dating anyone her age would just be weird to me. That's why I said they were too young."

"Makes sense. Honestly, though, I almost wish I wasn't mean to her. Almost. Like I said, it was fun." He grabbed his laptop bag and stood up, "I'm gonna go do some homework. Thanks for the coffee. I'll see you when I see you!"

Motoki watched his best friend leave and then grinned to himself. He was ready to play matchmaker.

* * *

"Hi, Motoki!" Usagi said excitedly as she walked in the next day, having assessed her surroundings to make sure Mamoru hadn't returned.

"Hey, Usagi!" He called back.

She took a seat right in the middle of the bar and leaned over, "I got an 80 on my English exam!"

"Usagi Tsukino got a passing grade in English," he laughed. "Color me shocked, and very proud!" He surprised her with the shake he had made before she came in and then leaned against the counter, "So what did you think of that guy that was in here yesterday?"

She ate a spoonful of the shake and then stared at him, "The guy that was sitting down there? He was a complete asshole. It's no surprise you're his only friend. You're too nice not to be."

"Oh, come on, Usagi. He was just messing around. He's usually not that awful, I swear." He told her.

"So you admit he was being super rude!" She crossed her arms and looked away, "I can't believe you let him speak to me like that."

"He thinks you're cute." Motoki smiled mischievously.

"Well, he can jus-" She dropped her arms and looked at Motoki incredulously, "He _what_?"

His plan was working perfectly, "He said you're cute. And he liked talking to you, even if you were just being mean to each other."

She ran her hand over one of her pig tails, "At least he has good taste in women."

"Usagi," he said sternly, "Aside from him being a jerk, what do you think of him?"

Her eyes darted around the arcade and then back to him, "I don't even know him, Motoki."

"Did you think he was interesting? Handsome? Funny? Anything?"

She took a long drink of her shake and then looked at him again, "I think he's a big jerk. And I'm glad he isn't here today."

"Usagi," Motoki bit his bottom lip in desperation, "You're like a sister to me. I won't tell him anything."

"But you told me what he said," She argued.

"Oh, come on. I didn't promise him not to say anything. In fact, I didn't even ask. He brought it up!"

"I mean, he was pretty," she snarked.

"Pretty what?" Motoki was confused, "Pretty funny? Pretty handsome? Pretty cool?"

"No, just pretty," she kept her face composed.

"Okay, so cute," he nodded to himself. "You should be a little nicer to him. He might take you out to an all-you-can-eat or something!"

Usagi glared at him, "Can you not? I don't want to be nice to him. Just because I think he's cute doesn't mean I want to date him, Motoki."

Motoki went around to the other side of the counter to where she was sitting and dropped to his knees, clasping his hands in front of him, "Please, Usagi! Please! You always talk about how you want a boyfriend and how boys don't like you, and it's getting sad!" He used the counter as an anchor to help him stand up, "Mamoru is a good guy. Give him a chance, won't you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, but if he's going to continue to be so rude to me, I won't put up with it. And stop making a scene, everyone's staring at us!"

Motoki gave a sigh of relief, "Thank god. Cool, cool, so he should be here next time he's off work, and you come here everyday, so it'll work out perfectly!"

She squinted her eyes at him and shook her head, "What are you doing, Motoki? What are you getting at here?"

"I'm just trying to play Cupid!" He laughed, "I'm joking, no, I just think you two would at least make great friends."

"We were fighting with each other and you'd think we'd make a great couple? Really?" She looked at him in confused shock.

"Opposites always attract!"

Usagi rolled her eyes, "We're not even opposites, Motoki. We're both mean, that's all."

"Usagi, Usagi, Usagi. He's intelligent, studious, put-together, and you're... clumsy, childish, and it would probably help you to study a little harder." He finished his sentence and then stepped back with his hands up.

"Oh, whatever, Motoki. Why are you trying to set us up? What do you get out of this?" She leaned over the counter and rested her chin on her fist.

"I just get to see my best friend and little sister happy together, is all." He winked.

"Oh god, all this time I've just been your little sister. That's so weird." She sat back up and stared at him, "What makes you so sure we'll be happy together?"

"Just a hunch."

* * *

Mamoru finally got a day off of work, and his classes ended early. All that was left was his therapy appointment... and a trip to the arcade. He pulled into the parking lot of his therapist's office and stared blankly out the windshield. He wasn't going to ask the girl out today, but he was going to talk to her. Actually talk to her. And he knew his doctor would be proud of his initiative, but in reality, Motoki had been bothering him endlessly about it.

"So, Chiba, tell me about her," the therapist asked him with a smile, following the news of a new addition to his life. "It seems she's piqued your interest enough to be worth your time, no?"

Mamoru struggled to find words that weren't entirely negative, "She's almost fascinating. She's got blue eyes, like me, and blonde hair with an interesting hair style. She's not stupid, but she could use a bit of work. There's something about her, I guess. I felt it when she first walked into the arcade, and it was the strangest thing, but I ignored it. But the only conversations we've had were arguments..."

His therapist sighed and moved around in his seat, "How do you plan on taking her out if all you do is argue?"

Mamoru let out a small grunt, "Motoki told me to trust him and to be nicer to her and, well, I do trust him..." His voice trailed off and he went quiet for a moment, considering a vague thought that rested at the back of his mind. "I think it might be too soon to say it, but I can't ignore it. Since I met that Usagi girl, I've been thinking more and more about her and less and less about my parents. I guess you can say it's a good thing, but really it just concerns me. Ten years and this was the first time I've gone a single day without thinking of them."

The therapist, who had been silent as Mamoru mulled over his thoughts, sat back, "That's a good thing, Mamoru. You hardly know her, and she's already begun to help you forget."

[[FLASHBACK]]

"_Vacation, vacation, vacation!" The young boy shouted, jumping up and down, his jet black hair flopping with him. _

"_Vacation!" His mother giggled, grabbing his hands and joining him in the celebration. She was tall and slender, her hair a soft brown and her eyes a deep blue; a nurse at the local hospital._

_His father walked in; a businessman. His hair was black and his eyes a dark brown, tall and thin like his wife. Mamoru was a perfect mix of the both of them. "Who's ready and excited!" They were headed out on their yearly summer vacation – a retreat into the mountains. Mount Aino was a familial favorite. "It rained last night, so we should leave early so we can drive slower and still make it there by the time we have to check into the lodge."_

"_Let's leave now!" Little Mamoru clapped his hands excitedly. He was seven years old and perpetually vibrant and happy._

"_Okay, okay. We've just gotta pack up the car!" His mother reminded, grabbing their bags._

_Mamoru snuggled his blanket and wiggled around, "I'm gonna go wait in the car, mama!" _

_The six hour drive was uneventful, up until they got into the mountains. "It's gonna be curvy, everyone hold on tight," his father smirked at his son in the rear view mirror. _

_They had made this trip numerous time. It had been a tradition for the couple since they began to date, with the addition of their first and only child eight years ago. But this time was different. This time, there was a truck. It had lost control, and the grade of the mountainside road only made it worse. The guard rail could only slow them down so much, and it was such a long fall to the ground._

_The young boy was air-lifted to the hospital, and his parents pronounced dead at the scene. "It was amazing he survived at all," the nurse mentioned to the social worker as Mamoru slept in the recovery room. "It's a shame he has no family to live with. He's all alone." She stared at the ground sadly and sighed. "He's stable, with no life-threatening injuries, so we're going to keep him overnight. You can discharge him tomorrow and take him." The nurse and the social worker bowed to each other and parted ways, the tragedy weighing heavily on their minds._

[[END FLASHBACK]]

"I guess I'm just nervous. I've never dated anyone and the idea of suddenly considering taking a complete stranger out on a date is unnerving." He tapped his foot rapidly against the floor.

"Ah, Chiba. Have confidence in yourself. You don't have to take the leap today or any time soon, just whenever you're ready. It'll be fine," the tall, plump man promised. "This is a chance for things to change for you, so it's only natural that you are fearful. One step at a time."

* * *

His stomach was doing round-off back handsprings the entire drive to the arcade. He really couldn't understand why, not even outside of what his therapist had told him about life changes. He didn't know her and they probably wouldn't end up together, but something about the feeling he got the first time he saw her kept eating at him. He pulled into an empty parking space in front of the arcade and shut the car off, trying to force himself to get up and go inside. She wouldn't be there yet, but waiting for her to show up just made him even more uneasy.

Finally, he walked into the arcade and was greeted by Motoki. "You finally came! Man, I am so excited for you."

Mamoru glared at him, "I don't understand any of this. Why are you trying to set us up?"

Motoki shrugged, "I have a hunch, okay? I told you to trust me. You have to."

"I don't have to," Mamoru sighed in defeat, "but I do anyway. If this ends badly, I'm blaming you. It'll fall on your shoulders."

Motoki grinned as he heard the sliding doors open, "I'm willing to take that."

Usagi took the stool two seats down from Mamoru and nodded her head at him, but she didn't say anything. She appeared very obviously nervous. Motoki decided to take control of the situation. "Usagi! Hey! This is my best friend, Mamoru. Mamoru, this is Usagi!"

They looked at each other and said "hi". After an awkward, awkward moment of silence, Mamoru turned to her, "I'm sorry about the other day. I was an ass and I don't know what got into me. I'm not usually awful, and I think Motoki will vouch for me."

Usagi didn't look at him, she had her elbows on the counter and she was staring down at it. A smile played at her lips, "He already did." She dropped her arms and twisted the stool to face him, a full grin adorning her face now, "And I forgive you." She bowed slightly, "Tsukino Usagi."

He returned her greeting, "Chiba Mamoru."

Usagi's heart was in her throat, "It's nice to formally meet you, Mamoru."

"Same to you." Mamoru didn't feel much different than her. "So how did your English test go?"

She beamed, "I got an 80! Which is really good for me."

"Not bad, Usagi," his smile made her melt, and oh god, the way her name rolled off of his tongue...

Usagi could feel her face turning red, the heat in her cheeks adding to her nerves, so she turned away, "Thank you, Mamoru." He really was cute and, hey, maybe he wasn't so bad.

They talked on and on for hours. The only thing Mamoru didn't talk about was his parents' deaths, tactfully avoiding every question she asked about his family, reserving that for when he felt he could trust her. Which, he thought, wouldn't be long. Motoki mostly stayed back and admired his own handy work, throwing in a reply here and there but mostly remaining silent. It was starting to get late, and he knew Usagi would have to go home soon, so Motoki began to sweep, during which he "accidentally" bumped into Mamoru. _Ask her out!_, he willed silently.

It seemed that his attempt had worked. Mamoru looked casually at his watch and then back at Usagi. "Hey, I've gotta head back to my apartment, and I'm sure you need to go home." He smiled nervously, "But I was wondering if you'd like to go out on Saturday? They're having a carnival and fireworks at the park, and maybe we can go together? My treat."

"Like a date!?" She perked up, a bit too excited.

Mamoru laughed at her ecstatic remark, "Yes, exactly like a date."

Usagi turned around and grabbed her cheeks, feeling them turn even redder. _Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I have a date with a cute older boy. Naru's going to be so jealous! _She turned back around, a bit more composed, and rapidly nodded her head. "I'd like that. I'd like it a lot!"

He chuckled at her, _she's so adorable, _"I'll pick you up Saturday at 5?"

"Perfect. I'll have just enough time to convince my father not to kill you!" She said it so... nonchalantly.

Mamoru's smile disappeared, "Oh, yeah, please do that."

* * *

"You're going out with a boy I haven't met?" Kenji was practically on fire.

"I can't believe idiot Usagi has a date," Shingo muttered, rolling his eyes and going up to his room.

"Papa! He's really nice. He's 18 and a Pre-Med at Tokyo U. Isn't that great?" She was nervously playing with her fingers and staring at the floor. She only had an hour before Mamoru came to pick her up, and she hadn't even started getting ready yet. "Besides, Motoki introduced us, and you trust him!"

Kenji's eye twitched, "That may be so, but..."

"There's no but's about it, Kenji dear." Ikuko cut in. "Usagi has a date with a boy who doesn't sound too bad. I'm sure we'll meet him and you'll like him. It'll be okay." She touched his arm and he sighed, "_Fine_!"

Usagi bolted up to her room and immediately went to work getting ready. Naru helped her pick out her outfit, and she slipped into her soft, basic pink dress and white sandals. She clipped small pink bows of the same shade in front of her odangoes. Her stomach was burning with anxiety and her hand shook slightly as she applied a light shade of makeup. "And a nice lip gloss to make my lips look extra kissable!" She giggled to herself, feeling stupid for being so giddy when, only days before, she loathed the man taking her out. She slipped a fake pearl bracelet onto her wrist and then stared at the mirror hanging on her closet door. Usagi studied herself, wondering, hoping that she looked okay and being too afraid to ask anyone, in fear that they would tell her she looked terrible.

She had lost track of time and came back to her senses with she heard the doorbell. "Usagi! Mamoru is here!" Her mother yelled up the stairs.

Usagi's stomach dropped, "I'm... I'm coming!" She grabbed her white satchel purse and draped it over her shoulder and went downstairs. Kenji and Mamoru were sitting on the couch, Kenji grilling him about what he did, how his grades were, what his family was like – which, of course, Mamoru tactfully avoided, and how the hell a college student could afford such a nice car ("it's a long story").

"Papa!" Usagi warned from the foot of the stairs. She then smiled, "I'm ready, Mamoru!"

He rose to his feet gratefully, "We should get going, then."

He opened the car door for her, and she thanked him shyly. He closed it behind her and then got in the driver's seat. "I didn't want to say this in front of your parents, but you look beautiful tonight."

Usagi's heart was on fire, "Th-thank you. You look nice, too."

They were both too nervous to talk for the rest of the drive, which fortunately wasn't very long. He opened the door for her and helped her out of the car by taking her hand, and they both tried to ignore the shock waves that surged through the both of them.

Mamoru bought tickets for the rides for the both of them and asked her if she wanted to ride the ferris wheel first. Usagi looked down at the ground, "I'm a little scared of heights," and then up at him with a grin, "But I'm sure it'll be fine! Let's go!"

"Are you sure?" He was confused, not seeing how it would be fine if she was scared of heights.

"Yeah! Come on!" She tugged on his arm and they headed toward the ferris wheel.

Mamoru handed the ride attendant the tickets for the both of them and the attendant pulled up the bar for them. Usagi stared up at the tall wheel and tried not to get nervous.

"It's okay, Usagi," Mamoru smiled as he patted the empty seat next to him. She planted herself in it and then held onto the bar that the attendant closed in front of them.

"I'll be fine," she said shakily. They started going up and her terror caught up with her. "Ma-Mamoru. I'm scared!" She grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and stared in terror at the ground. He didn't really think about it as he wrapped his arms protectively around her. He didn't think of the way it would shock the both of them into silence and completely dispel all of the girl's fears.

She let go of his shirt and looked around the carnival and out, "I can see the whole city from here! Wow!"

Mamoru laughed, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

She relaxed in his arms, "Yeah, it is."

It felt natural to be holding her, and she didn't mind at all that he wouldn't let her go even after her fears subsided. She had never felt so safe. Even when time came to get off, Mamoru handed the attendant enough tickets for them to go around two more times; neither of them wanted to separate.

Finally, they had both had enough of the ups and downs of the wheel. "We've got enough tickets left for one more ride," Mamoru said, "You choose."

She shook her head in defiance, "No! You choose!"

Mamoru surveyed the carnival and then turned back to her, "How about we use the rest of the tickets on games?"

Usagi cheered, "I like that idea!" She snatched the tickets from his hand and began to run to the ring toss booth.

"Hey, wait up!" He followed after her and she had already given the game attendant half of their tickets.

She had her hands placed on her hips and had a superior air about her, "I'm going to show you just how cool I am!" The attendant handed them both five rings each. Usagi tossed one and, somehow, it ended up around the arm of a hanging stuffed animal. Her eyes widened, "Um, that was just a warm-up! Watch _this_!" The next ring ended up hitting the attendant in the cheek, the one after that broke a bottle, and her last two were nowhere to be found after she tossed them. "Okay, maybe I'm no good at this one..."

Mamoru waved his hand at her, "Nah, watch this." Every single one of his rings landed softly around the bottle necks. When he was told to pick one of the large plushies, Usagi watched him, full of jealousy, as he studied each of the stuffed animals hanging down from the booth. "I'll take that one!"

* * *

"This is really cute, Mamoru, but can't we put it in your car?" Usagi asked, her cheek buried into the back of the plush rabbit. He made her carry it as punishment for being so full of herself. They used up all of their tickets over an hour ago, and now were mostly walking around and trying out food from different booths – much to Usagi's glee.

"Fine, fine. But we have to hurry and find a good spot because the fireworks are starting soon!" Mamoru reminded.

"I guess we'd better hurry then, huh?" Usagi winked at him and then started walking toward the parking lot.

"Wait for me, at least!" He called after her, speeding up his pace to keep up.

The squeezed into a spot on the hill just below where the fireworks would be the biggest and brightest. Mamoru laid out the blanket he grabbed out of his trunk and they both sat down. Usagi's hand landed on his on accident, and she pulled it away, blushing. "S-sorry." He couldn't help but smile, and shook his head at her shyness. _After all we've been through today..._

The first firework went off, shaped like a heart, and Usagi giggled. She had always loved fireworks. Mamoru kept telling himself to watch the fireworks, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Usagi. Her eyes lit up with the light of the fireworks and her own happiness at watching them, her smile growing each time one boomed in the sky. He had never seen someone be made so happy by the smallest of things. His hand searched for hers on the blanket, and when he found it, he interlaced their fingers. Her attention to the fireworks was ripped away and her head turned toward him, slightly surprised.

All he had to do was smile, and their heads immediately began to inch their ways closer to each other. Their foreheads touched for a moment before they adjusted, closing their eyes, and the moment their lips brushed against one another, a fire erupted inside of the both of them. Usagi pulled away first, breathless. Mamoru let out a small chuckle as he opened his eyes, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear and running his hand along one of her pigtails before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and turning back to the fireworks. Usagi rested her temple against his shoulder and grinned as they watched the rest of the fireworks show.

Mamoru's heart was pounding in his chest as he thought about what got him to this point. Usagi's presence in his life was so unexpected, and yet she was there next to him, and he finally figured out what true happiness felt like. For him, it was the best form of therapy.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I wanted to rewrite this one now that my skills have improved... I think... I don't know, no one's told me (although I can guarantee it's a lot better than the original... wow). Review pleaaaase :)


End file.
